


Where My Demons Hide

by hibiren



Series: Jay's FFXV Halloween Week 2019 Fics [6]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Anxiety, Canon Compliant, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hotels, Hurt/Comfort, Late at Night, Light Angst, M/M, Nightmares, Poor Prompto Argentum, Promptis - Freeform, Sharing a Bed, Short One Shot, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-31 19:42:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21247199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hibiren/pseuds/hibiren
Summary: [FFXV Halloween Week, Day Six] Prompto has a recurring nightmare, and Noctis comforts him when he wakes up screaming in their hotel room.
Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Series: Jay's FFXV Halloween Week 2019 Fics [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1526579
Comments: 2
Kudos: 64





	Where My Demons Hide

**Author's Note:**

> Happy almost AUSA time! We have some cosplay plans for Halloween Week's Day 7, so I'm not sure if I can post Day 7's fic idea while we're out at the con but I'll do my best!
> 
> Title inspired from [Imagine Dragons' "Demons"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqI78S14Wgg) since I seem to be on a roll with naming my fics with song lyrics xD
> 
> **Featuring [FFXV Halloween Week](https://twitter.com/FFXVhalloweenwk)'s Prompts**:  
**Monster of the Day**: Demons/Daemons

Darkness spread like a sea before Prompto, churning and casting frozen winds in every direction, chilling him thoroughly. He shivered and wrapped his arms around himself, hoping to make sense of this dark space around him. This was just the same as it was many other nights. Even though Prompto knew exactly what was coming, it terrified him nonetheless. The monsters that plagued him since childhood. The monsters that looked exactly like him. The monsters that looked exactly like him, but they were melting, clawing the ground as they limply scratched their way closer.

They reached for him and no matter how hard Prompto tried to kick them away, they just kept crawling, kept clawing, kept moving in droves until they overtook him in a sea of melted-ink hands and glowing purple eyes and _fear_ and _pain._ They pulled him down and drowned him in his own mind, suffocating him in their echoed screams, the screams in his own voice…

Prompto bolted upright and tore the earbuds from his ears. His heart raced a thousand miles an hour in his chest, and his skin slicked with cold sweat. It took him a moment to realize he’d been screaming, and he only screamed louder when a hand appeared from the darkness of the hotel room and grabbed him tightly around his shaking arm. He tried to pull away to no avail, and couldn’t fight back tears as he yelled,

“Don’t touch me!!”

“Prompto - Prompto, it’s me, you’re alright - you’re okay. It was just a nightmare,” came Noctis’ voice, ever gently, from beside him. Prompto relaxed just slightly as Noctis let go, trying to focus on breathing evenly but his body just shuddered as he tried.

“You… you okay?” Noctis asked, blinking sleepily. Light filled the room as he leaned over to the bedside lamp and switched it on. There were no demons-that-looked-like-Prompto swarming the room. It was just himself and Noctis sharing the room’s single bed and empty space otherwise save for sparse furniture and their suitcases. “It’s that nightmare again, isn’t it?”

Prompto swallowed back a nervous sigh and nodded, wiping the remnants of tears from his eyes with the backs of his wrists. After taking a moment to collect himself, he laid back against the pillows and stared blankly up at the ceiling.

“Hey… Noct?”

“Hm?”

“Tell me I’m not a daemon…”

“What?”

“Tell me I’m not a daemon. That I’m just me. I’m just Prompto and that’s all that matters.”

Noctis pulled the blankets close around Prompto as if to tuck him in and settled in next to him. Close, but not too close, in case he was still anxious - Noctis always seemed to know what was best. Despite how he made himself appear to others, there was something deep down within that cared for others. And Prompto appreciated that part of him very much.

“You’re not a daemon. You’re just you, just Prompto, and that’s all that matters. Your nightmares are just dreams, no matter how real they feel to you in the moment or afterward. And… no matter how bad your nightmares get, I’ll protect you from them. I’ll keep you safe.”

Slowly, Prompto rolled over to face Noctis and awkwardly held his arms out.

“I know you don’t usually but… can I have a hug?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. It’s cool.” Noctis spoke softly, a smile at his tired lips as he scooted closer and wrapped his arms around Prompto’s back. Prompto wrapped his arms around Noctis’ waist and buried his head in Noctis’ shoulder. His shirt still smelled somewhat like campfire from their early-morning venture the prior day, and it was comforting to be able to ground himself in the arms of someone he trusted with his life.

“...Thanks,” Prompto muttered eventually, and Noctis just continued holding onto Prompto with a comforting gentleness. One hand reached up to rub Prompto’s back and he thought he’d melt into it as he finally, finally relaxed.

“As I said, don’t worry. I gotcha, buddy. We’ve been through a lot. Even Gladio and Ignis get nightmares too, y’know - physical or mental strength doesn’t prevent them from happening. It hits all of us in one way or another at some point. But as long as we have someone to pull us through it, that’s really what helps.” When Prompto pulled away just slightly to readjust his position, Noctis brushed a stray strand of hair from out of Prompto’s eyes and offered a comforting smile. “We’ve all got your back.”

“And… I’ve got all of yours, too. I’ll do my best,” Prompto whispered, trying to make himself comfortable beneath the blankets. “Do you… think… no, I know you wouldn’t. Nevermind.”

“Wouldn’t what?”

“...Want to… cuddle… or something. It’s silly, I know, I shouldn’t have brought it up,” Prompto stuttered, burying his head against the pillow as he turned away from Noctis. “You can leave the light on tonight if you want. Sorry, I’ll go to sleep now. ‘Night, Noct…”

Noctis’ warm hands slowly reached over, first resting at Prompto’s waist as if leaving it up to him to decide if he still was up for it. Prompto slowly took hold of Noctis’ palms and wrapped his arms around his still-shivering body, welcoming the Prince’s surprising warmth against his back.

“G’night, Prompto. I’ve got you. If anything comes to hurt you in your sleep again, tell ‘em they’ve gotta go through me first.”

With a bitter chuckle, Prompto said, “I will, if they listen.”

“They have to, it’s a Prince’s orders,” Noctis bantered back, and gave Prompto’s hand a squeeze as he spoke. “C’mon, blondie, get some rest. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

Reluctantly, Prompto closed his eyes and was thankful for the ambient light in the room as he drifted off into a half-asleep state. Even if he didn’t fully go back to sleep, just for tonight it wouldn’t bother him. He felt safe in the arms of the one he trusted most, and that was all that Prompto found important, in that one shared moment between them.

**Author's Note:**

> poor Prompto I'm sure would have a lot of nightmares, but he's lucky because he has Noctis to cuddle his nightmares away :3


End file.
